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Olaudah equiano's captivity
Olaudah equiano's captivity
Slavery and freedom gain in the interesting narrative of the life of olaudah equiano
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Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl opens up with an introduction with a protagonist Linda (Harriet Jacobs) a slave girl which was born as a slave and states her reasons why she kept her autobiography private for so long. As Linda goes on and talk about her lifestyle as women slave, on the other hand I will be comparing the life style of another slave Olaudah Equiano who is a male slave which has a different point perspective of how he uses strategies to gain freedom from his master. How does gender complicate Linda’s (Harriet Jacobs) situation in comparison to Olaudah Equaino’s to gain freedom from their masters? Or does her gender complicate her situation? In a comparison of gender such as female and male there were always big difference which is also stated in the bible, from the Apostle Paul women were created second, sinner first and should always be kept silent. So what makes Linda’s gender so complicated to gain freedom from her master? The answer as stated in the book she was owned by Dr.Flint’s daughter which she couldn’t gain her freedom as long as the daughter did not gave her freedom, such on the other Equiano was owned by a master who gave him freedom. What was the reason why Linda could not get her freedom? Gender , Christianity, Strategies. If we first look into the gender of comparison of female and male there was always difference which gave the upper hand for men than women. According to the Puritans which were the first English settlers who came and settled in the Americas always thought of women as a helping hand, which is believed to be in the bible itself an example of that “Let your women keep silence in churches: for it is not permitted unto them; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also s... ... middle of paper ... ...s escaped freedom. Gender was a main concern that did not make Jacob’s a free woman, in comparison to Equiano. The facts from the bible that does not permit women to own nor to buy land also played a role in gaining her freedom. Christianity hypocrisy or support on slavery had a role in lives of slaves as slaves were supported by Christianity. Jacob’s narrative was definitely written for the same audience as of Equiano’s, her main point while telling her story was to show people what was really going on in the lives of slaves, how they struggled to live a happy life. Strategies that were used by both of the slaves were somewhat different, because gender played a huge role becoming free women in comparison to Equiano. It was truly sad to see these people struggle to live a happy life like every other person, but I liked Jacob’s narrative much more than Equiano’s.
A recurring theme in, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is Harriet Jacobs's reflections on what slavery meant to her as well as all women in bondage. Continuously, Jacobs expresses her deep hatred of slavery, and all of its implications. She dreads such an institution so much that she sometimes regards death as a better alternative than a life in bondage. For Harriet, slavery was different than many African Americans. She did not spend her life harvesting cotton on a large plantation. She was not flogged and beaten regularly like many slaves. She was not actively kept from illiteracy. Actually, Harriet always was treated relatively well. She performed most of her work inside and was rarely ever punished, at the request of her licentious master. Furthermore, she was taught to read and sew, and to perform other tasks associated with a ?ladies? work. Outwardly, it appeared that Harriet had it pretty good, in light of what many slaves had succumbed to. However, Ironically Harriet believes these fortunes were actually her curse. The fact that she was well kept and light skinned as well as being attractive lead to her victimization as a sexual object. Consequently, Harriet became a prospective concubine for Dr. Norcom. She points out that life under slavery was as bad as any slave could hope for. Harriet talks about her life as slave by saying, ?You never knew what it is to be a slave; to be entirely unprotected by law or custom; to have the laws reduce you to the condition of chattel, entirely subject to the will of another.? (Jacobs p. 55).
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl opens with an introduction in which the author, Harriet Jacobs, states her reasons for writing an autobiography. Her story is painful, and she would rather have kept it private, but she feels that making it public may help the antislavery movement. A preface by abolitionist Lydia Maria Child makes a similar case for the book and states that the events it records are true. Jacobs uses the pseudonym Linda Brent to narrate her first-person account. Born into slavery, Linda spends her early years in a happy home with her mother and father, who are relatively well-off slaves.
Expanded and strengthened state private insurance companies are to be expected since more younger Texans enter the market thanks to the premium support. Texas can expect savings through more proper use of medical care, lower numbers in Medicaid, and savings from increased recipient cost sharing. Texas must refuse to comply with the new high-risk pools. There are many reasons Texas should not comply but the main reason is poor design. Currently, eighteen states have decided not to participate in these pools, Texas is undecided. Any person with a pre-existing medical disorder whom has been without insurance for six month will qualify. The law gave the Department of Health discretion in determining with conditions qualifies. Theoretically, the Department of Health could say the flu is a pre existing medical condition. If Texas does not refuse to comply with these pools it is only a matter of time before the demand will exceed the supply. A huge concern is when the funding is gone what do the state politicians do. I see two options. One, state officials will end the coverage all together and pull the plug. Two, continue to allow the program to run with the use of state tax dollars.
Another issue that faced blacks was the incompetence of the white slave owners and people. In the situation of Jacob’s mother, their Master was incompetent towards the issue with the child, that her mother stood pleaded to spare her life.... ... middle of paper ... ... Her narrative focuses on the domestic issues that face African-American women, she even states, “Slavery is bad for men, but it is far more terrible for women”.
Since the biblical days, society was very structural with the role of the “Man” and the “Woman.” This concept came to be known as the term gender roles, referring to the significant differences between men and women due to an established role and expectation created by society itself. Society’s expectations of the man’s character were assertiveness, analytical, and unemotional. These characteristics, collectively, coin the term masculine for men. And society’s expectations of the woman’s character were sensitivity, nurturing, and emotional, which together coined the term feminine. Along with the standards of feminine and masculine came responsibilities both the man and the woman. The male had economic responsibilities and the female had domestic
Harriet Jacobs takes a great risk writing her trials as a house servant in the south and a fugitive in the north. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl gives a true account of the brutality slavery held for women. A perspective that was relatively secretive during Jacobs’ time. Jacobs’ narrative focuses on subjugation due to race but it also portrays many women an strong and often open roles. Women in these roles were minimal and often suffered for their outspoken roles.
Throughout history, it is clear that men are usually seen to be advantaged by the logic of domination while females tend to be disadvantaged. Whether it be in the workplace, household, or even the bible men have always been inferior to women. Through history, cultural norms and stereotypes gender roles were created and have been present throughout society. Although it is believed that males are more advantaged than females the texts Eve and Adam: Genesis 2-3 Reread by Phyllis Trible and The Creation and Fall of Man and Woman explain how men and woman are in fact equal and maybe even disadvantaged by these cultural arrangements. Therefore, throughout history it is clear that gender discourses would allow one to believe that men are advantaged
When the puritans came to America they settled and eventually thrived off the land. Puritans believed that women were: “the weaker vessel in both body and mind” (Puritan women), and that they weren't capable of doing much in life. Now we see their first mistake, women are equal, if not better, at many things than men are. Women can do anything they wanted to, within legal bounds of course, so one sex is not higher than the other they are both equal. Now please don't mistake “equal” with “fair” or “same” because that's not what I mean when I said equal I meant as in capability. Of course women have limitations, but so do men, men can do things women can't and women can do things that men can't,
Both 1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale are dystopian novels, however, these books are a lot more complex than mere portrayals of dystopia, it can be argued that they are explorations of dystopia rather than mere portrayals. In order to explore dystopia, many themes must be considered, such as; feminism, love and repression. Nonetheless, it is apparent that human characteristics are the driving point of the two novels, predominantly, the depiction of human resilience. In an imperfect world, it is important to have certain qualities which, if plentiful, it can mean success, whereas if it lacks, it can mean failure, this characteristic is resilience. The protagonists in each novel, Winston in 1984 and Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale face situations which leave them both in disarray, and both even consider suicide. The authors tentatively highlight human resilience, its limits and most importantly its strengths into the two novels.
Many people, all throughout history, have aspired to create a perfect life for themselves. However, this dream is not often very easily available. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a novel about the decay of society, the blindness of love, and the pointless pursuit of the now non-existent American dream. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows the United States not in the glittering golden light that many claimed, but rather cast in a dark gloomy haze, polluted by crime, corruption, and moral decay. Fitzgerald also strikes down the notion that foolish love is harmless. Additionally, the author illustrates that the American dream is a now no-longer existent, and foolish pursuit. Many thought the roaring twenties were the height of American society, but they were actually just the beginning of a downward spiral.
In conclusion, women were considered property and slave holders treated them as they pleased. We come to understand that there was no law that gave protection to female slaves. Harriet Jacob’s narrative shows the true face of how slaveholders treated young female slave. The female slaves were sexually exploited which damaged them physically and psychologically. Furthermore it details how the slave holder violated the most sacred commandment of nature by corrupting the self respect and virtue of the female slave. Harriet Jacob writes this narrative not to ask for pity or to be sympathized but rather to show the white people to be aware of how female slaves constantly faced sexual exploitation which damaged their body and soul.
The first topic found in these books is the difference in the roles of women and men slaves. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl gives us the women 's point of view, their lifestyle and their slave duties and roles. On the other hand, The Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass shows us the male side of slavery; the duties and role of men slaves and their way of living their situation. Both books state clearly the roles of both men and women slaves. We can easily observe the fact that slaves’ roles were based on their gender, and the different duties they had based on these roles. This gender role idea was based on American society’s idea of assigning roles based only on gender. Slave men’s role was most of the time simple. Their purpose was mainly physical work. In
After reading the slavery accounts of Olaudah Equiano 's "The Life of Olaudah Equiano" and Harriet Jacobs ' "Incidents In the Life of a Slave Girl", you gain knowledge of what slaves endured during their times of slavery. To build their audience aware of what life of a slave was like, both authors gives their interpretation from two different perspectives and by two different eras of slavery.
The two slave narratives Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by Himself provide two different perspectives on the institution of slavery. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl depicts a female perspective of slavery in the 1850s while The Interesting Narrative of the Life... provides a male perspective from almost a hundred years before. Although written at different times from different perspectives, both works illustrate the tragic reality of American slavery. As a key component of American culture, both Equiano and Jacobs are exposed to the Christian faith. However, Harriet Jacobs uses her religion to recognize the hypocrisy of white